


Ripple Effect

by FriendOfTheFugitive



Series: My Dear Inquisitor [15]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Comfort/Angst, Fear of Drowning, Intense, M/M, Nightmare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-18
Updated: 2015-10-18
Packaged: 2018-04-26 23:52:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5025559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FriendOfTheFugitive/pseuds/FriendOfTheFugitive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The event of Ferron Lavellan’s almost drowning left echoes that cut deeper than he could have imagined.</p><p>TW; Drowning</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ripple Effect

**Author's Note:**

> Again, I'm placing a trigger warning because of the intense description of drowning. I hope you all enjoy, thanks for reading, and don't hesitate to leave feedback--I love it! :)
> 
> Timeline: Three days after Disappearing Behind The Waves

The water was flooding around him, rising rapidly. It chilled him to his bones, and as much as he wanted to flee from the danger, his body wouldn’t move. It was anchored in the lapping waves that tickled his flesh, causing fear to grip his being. His breathing was shaky, but calm. He tried to focus on what was around him. He could feel Dorian’s warm flesh beneath his hand as it slowly curled into a soft claw. His mind pulled towards reality, the waves receding each time his fingers brushed along Dorian’s abdomen.

The sharp pain in his left arm locked him back into his nightmare. The waves were roaring with ferocity, smacking in to him. He struggled to move, thrashing wildly, causing more pain to shoot through his being. The pain was preferable to the inevitable drowning. His breathing was panicked, his chest heaving rapidly as he fought for air. The waves clawed at him, yanking and tearing at his flesh, pulling him underneath and into the darkness.

He couldn’t breathe. His whole body was numb as he rapidly descended deeper and deeper into the black abyss. There was a sharp stinging in his chest, as if his lungs would burst from lack of oxygen. He tried to scream, but nothing came out. The water was ice cold and screaming in his ears as each wave crashed back into its body. The current swept him under, and no matter how hard he tried to fight it, the surface was nowhere in sight.

He was getting light headed, pain searing through his body without restriction. There was immense pressure on his chest, crushing his body underneath the weight. With one last heave, Ferron parted his lips and gulped in as much air as his lungs could hold. The jolt of oxygen flowing again propelled him from his dream, shooting him upwards from the bed.

The hand that was resting on Dorian’s abdomen flew up his body, smacking into his face as Ferron sat up. It startled Dorian, and he cursed as he too sat up, rubbing the red mark on his jaw. “Ferron, if you wanted to wake me up-, Ferron?” He was angry at first, but his tone softened to concern when he saw the state of his lover.

Lavellan was hunched over, trembling with a thin layer of cold sweat coating his body. His hair was damp, and the place where he lay held the dark outline of where his body once was. His breathing was tight and rasped as he fought the vise that was in his chest. One hand was on his shoulder the other was securely on the blankets, the fabric pressed between his fingers and his knuckles turning from red to white as his strength returned to him.

Dorian looked utterly terrified for Ferron, his skin was pale, ghostly. His body still trembled with every breath, and when Dorian placed a soft hand on his back, Ferron’s skin jumped and he cringed away. It was three days since his fall, but this was the first night he actually slept. His insomnia mixed with the pain in his shoulder kept him awake the previous nights, despite Dorian’s best efforts to get him to sleep.

“It’s me, Amatus…” Dorian cooed gently as he brushed his fingers along Ferron’s back, attempting not to startle him with sudden movements. “How are you feeling?” he whispered gently as he slowly moved closer to Ferron, not wanting there to be a lot of space between them. It broke his heart to see Ferron in a true venerable state. It was no secret that Ferron had many fears, thus making him more jumpy than normal, but he had learned to cope with those fears long ago. No one really saw the aftermath of the little fears, but this display was something that could have anyone who loved Ferron in tears. They threatened Dorian every second Ferron was quiet.

“It was horrible.” Ferron’s voice was deeper than normal, strained and cold. It was obvious he was working to keep the shaking from his vocals, he breathed in tight, controlled breaths. It scared Dorian further; it was apparent how much pain the event was causing him. “I was sure I was going to die.” He added a few moments later, his eyes squeezing tightly as tears pushed onto his cheeks, streaking down his flesh and leaving red stains in their wake.

Dorian gently rubbed Ferron’s back, eyeing the bandage that wrapped around his upper arm and shoulder, then extended across and around his chest and upper back. It was Dorian’s job to watch Ferron’s back, to make sure that no one could have the drop on him. Dorian felt like he failed Ferron; but Ferron knew that without Dorian’s quick thinking, he would have drowned.

Silence fell over them like a thick blanket, suffocating them. Ferron’s breathing had calmed, but fear still hooked into his mind and body. The trembling dulled as time passed, but his cold flesh was still sensitive and resistant to every soft touch Dorian carried out. Another tear fell from Ferron’s eye as he turned his head just enough to look at Dorian, “I don’t want to die.”

Any control that Dorian possessed over his emotions shattered at that very moment. He let out a shaky breath as silent tears began to stream from his eyes. With slow movements, he wrapped his arms around Ferron’s chest before pulling him into a protective and warm embrace. Ferron’s back was against his chest and his head nestled under Dorian’s chin. “I know, Amatus, I know.” The mage choked out before he placed comforting kisses in Ferron’s hair and on his ears.

He gently rocked Ferron as tears continued to fall from his eyes. Ferron used his good arm to hold onto Dorian’s arms, pulling him closer, needing to feel the weight and warmth of Dorian on his skin. He didn’t want to get stuck in the horrid nightmares that had plagued him. They remained awake, never separating from each other, not even when the sun began to shine through the colorful stain glass windows that lined the walls.


End file.
